For her Nameberry 9 blog this week, Appellation Mountain‘s Abby Sandel scopes out some names that might just make it big.

It happens with sports and fashion and baby names, too. We’re all trying to guess The Next Big Thing. Looking backwards it seems inevitable that Isabella would become the most popular girls’ name in the US. And of course the Aiden–Jaden–Hayden craze was bound to happen, thanks to a recurring character on an HBO series, a Hollywood titan, and a pair of young actors. Right?

Except that not every name that seems poised for popularity takes off. Lourdes remains obscure, despite her high-profile mom. Ditto Suri. We’re all in love with Adele right now, but as a given name, she’s still many paces behind Adelyn and Adalynn.

Prediction is much too much fun to give up, of course. So here are eight names spotted this week that just could be on the rise – plus one with a fascinating backstory.